Use Oppo's 1/2 zoom or turn off strecth for 16:9?

During recent move to new house, I decided to go CIH in my new HT setup. I'm using a 2.35:1 Carada BW 136" screen, Prismasonic FE1800, JVC RS20 and Oppo BD player. The Oppo is great for CIH because of its ability to move the subtitles, but I also found that I can use the 1/2 Zoom option to watch a 16:9 movie that fills the exact space on the screen as if I turned off the V-stretch in the JVC and used Pass mode on the A-lens.

Maybe it's my old eyes, but I don't notice any difference in PQ and it's easier to use the Oppo Zoom than toggling the V-stretch in the JVC and using the A-lens mechanical function to moving the lens out from Stretch to Pass (and back). There's no wear-and-tear either on the A-lens this way.

Any one else use this feature with the Oppo in a CIH or do you still move the lens and turn-off the V-stretch in the JVC or your VP?

I guess using the Oppo 1/2 Zoom to negate the V-stretch and A-lens adds some element of distortion, but I don't really see any (which is all that matters in my case). However, if anyone with better eyes finds it unacceptable, your input is appreciated too.

I'm not sure, but I don't think it works as you described the HDQ. I use the JVC V-stretch and A-lens to project 2.35:1 image onto same size screen with no bars. But with 16:9, I just leave those alone and using the 1/2 zoom, the 16:9 fills the screen exactly as the 2.35:1 image except with black bars on the side. Same as if I turned off the V-stretch and removed the A-lens (or used Pass mode).

I'm just not sure if this approach is bad. I'm guessing that with the V-stretch, A-lens, then Oppo 1/2 zoom, there's clearly extra processing and lens effect. It's just that I don't notice much using the V-stretch and A-lens for 2.35:1 and adding the extra 1/2 zoom for 16:9 doesn't appear to add anything more.

I'll keep playing with it and also try not using the JVC V-stretch, but just using the Oppo for stretch with the A-lens along with no VP and Pass mode for 16:9.

Yes, that's exactly what I do. The 1/2 zoom brings the 16:9 back into the screen area with bars on the side; same as if I had no A-lens and V-Stretch when projecting a 16:9 movie on the 21:9 screen. Glad to know that others follow the same approach.

I was just wondering if using this approach adds too much processing and warrant going through the process of turning off all VP and moving the A-lens out of the way. In my case, that's not too hard with my FE1800R lens since it can be switched remotely from Passthru to Stretch and back. It's a trade-off between what's easier and less mechanical wear vs. no digital VP.

Guess I need to play around some more, setting up macros (hopefully with discrete codes), and seeing how much difference it makes to my eyes and those of my wife's and guests.

I'm just glad that the Oppo gives me that choice along with some many other great benefits and features.

Gary,

Thanks for the confirmation. I really don't see any difference, so avoiding any mechanical or other movement of the lens seems like the best approach.

Now I just need a discrete code for the Oppo 1/2 Zoom and Full/Normal to plug into a Harmony to make it wife-friendly. Otherwise, she's just going to have to cycle through the numerous zoom options. Oh, ain't life hard.

I'm using the V-Stretch feature in the JVC along with the Lens to project 2.35:1 material. Obviously, there are no bars in the CIH setup. When I play 1.85:1 material, the top and bottom of the material is cut-off. Leaving the A-lens and V-Stretch in place, I'm able to toggle through the Oppo Zoom settings to the 1/2 zoom which reduces the 1.85:1 picture to where the top and bottom fit perfectly on the screen with black bars on the sides. Same as if I turned off the V-Stretch and removed the lens. The projector always remains in 16:9 mode with V-Stretch turned on. There is no geometric distortion. It's a nearly perfect 1.85:1 picture displayed on a 2.35:1 screen and Constant Image Height is maintained.

Exactly! Looking for an easy way to see the entire menu was what lead me to stumble across this feature on the Oppo. The Underscan zoom is close, but 1/2 zoom is perfect for throwing up the 16:9 material on a 2.35:1 screen without changing the typical settings (lens and V-stretch) for scoped material.

Not sure I'm following you. If you build a CIH setup, you do so to eliminate the "gray" bars on top and bottom since most movies are scoped. You also use all of the 1920x1080 pixels via V-stretch and A-lens, which is another benefit (more detail and lumens). Hopefully, that offsets any negatives from lens and VP.

The only way to eliminate "gray" bars on 16:9 film in a CIH setup is to zoom in and end up cropping the top and bottom. That's not good. In a CIH setup, yes you'll have bars on the sides for 16:9 material, but sides are easier to mask than top and bottom (since you're not fighting gravity). There's also less noticeable as they're on the sides vs. across the entire field of view throughout the movie.

And it's practically a moot point because with my RS20 and bat-cave, I'm getting a much better fade-to-black than any movie theater I've even seen. The RS20 is truly amazing when calibrated and in the proper environment. I was going to mask the sides with velvet panels that hang down, but have moved that project to the back-burner.